Super Me Plot Synopsis
Super Me’s story follows our struggling screenwriter protagonist, Sang Yu. He’s up to his eyeballs in debt, exhausted and desperately trying to stay awake. You see, when Sang Yu sleeps a strange demon chases and kills him. Unlike Elm Street however, Sang Yu’s death is not permanent and each occurrence forces him awake again. Sang-Yu soon realizes he can manipulate and control his dreams, conjuring forth fantastical worlds rife with money and treasures just waiting to be stolen and brought back into the real world. He does just this, and quickly amasses a fortune – and some unexpected attention from gangsters.
How does Super Me end?
The gangster Qiang holds Mr San and Sang-Yu captive with his goons. Our heroes try to get away but in doing so, Sang-Yu is knocked unconscious. We then switch across to the strange ethereal realm we’ve seen glimmers of across the movie. A bloodied Sang-Yu hammers against a crystallized wall. Suddenly, he transforms into the demon that’s been hunting him all this time and pushes through into our world. He faces Sang-Yu, who’s exhausted and lying on the floor, with a gun to his face. Here, our protagonist realizes the truth. Sang Yu utters the words: “I’m dreaming,” as everything fades and we cut way back to the moments outside the gas station at the start of the film. This is just before Sang-Yu managed to bring the golden sword out of his dream. He gets to know Hua’er properly and the two grow closer together. Not long after, Mr San sits with Sang-Yu and informs him excitedly that producers love his script. He hands over an envelope full of cash to prove as much. Out in the street though, Sang-Yu finds the same street vendor who offered him a sausage and egg muffin at the start of the film. The man shows off his scars and a stack of cash. It’s here Sang-Yu looks at the vendor and the world slips away, back into the dreamy, ethereal realm again.
Did Sang-Yu dream everything?
Here’s where the movie gets a little ambiguous and hazy. One (very credible) theory is that Sang-Yu has been dreaming everything that’s taken place across the movie. Sleep deprivation can lead to some very nasty and serious consequences (you can read more HERE) including paranoia, hallucinations, impulsive behaviour and suicidal thoughts. Sound familiar? Almost all of these traits are exhibited by Sang-Yu across the movie. The ending seems to hint that Sang-Yu finally fell asleep outside the gas station. Given how hungry and depressed he was before then, the movie implies that he finally fell asleep after filling his belly with food. This would also explain all the fantasy elements across the movie. Sang-Yu’s mind finally allowed him to come up with a solid premise for his screenplay (hence the quick turnaround and stacks of cash at the end) while the shattered walls in this dreamy world could well signify smashing through the writer’s block Sang-Yu had been suffering from.
Who is the demon chasing Sang-Yu?
We’re never explicitly told who or what the demon is but we do get a few clues across the movie’s run-time. It seems likely that the demon is simply the manifestation of Sang-Yu’s subconscious mind. The anger, dark wisps of smoke and aggressive demeanor all reflect how Sang-Yu feels at that moment. When he picks off the belt from the demon in the golden room though, the creature is docile and breathing heavily. This comes off the back of Sang-Yu meeting Hua’er and lowering down his defences. There are also the telling shots of the demon melting away the blue hue to reveal Sang-Yu’s face for a second midway through the picture. Likewise, the ending with Sang-Yu transforming into the demon also backs up this idea. This is only made more ambiguous though by a mid-credit sequence showing Sang-Yu outside the gas station while that blue ego demon stands watching from afar. Whether this is in reference to Sang-Yu’s dreams or not is open to interpretation.
Is Sang-Yu actually dead?
One of the more interesting ideas is that Sang-Yu is actually dead. The real tell here comes from the line “On a different timeline, you may be living a completely different life.” Super Me flirts with the idea of reality and fantasy constantly, and we could well be seeing numerous different timelines playing out simultaneously. On one of these timelines, Sang-Yu fell to his death off the rooftop. Late on, we catch a few scenes during the dreamy montage segment (pictured above) of Sang-Yu lying on a stretcher with a white sheet pulled up over his head. The demon could be Death while Sang-Yu’s idealistic life is simply a projection of what could have been. Ultimately though, the movie leaves everything on a very ambiguous note with several different interpretations. To read our full thoughts on this movie, check out our spoiler-free review HERE!) Thanks for reading our Ending Explained article! What did you think of Super Me’s ending? Do you think Sang-Yu dreamt the whole movie? Or do you support the Sang-Yu death theory? Let us know in the comments below!
Click Here To Go Back To Our Movie Reviews!
